Mr. Blue Sky: First color images of Pluto have scientists excited
Science
Mr. Blue Sky: First color images of Pluto have scientists excited
The sky over Pluto may not be sunny but it’s undoubtedly blue. The first color images from a historic nine-and-a-half year journey by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to the distant world reveal that, much like Earth, the mysterious, icy, dwarf planet has a blue hue around it. New Horizons was the first spacecraft to get an up-close look at this planet floating in space more than 4.5 billion miles from Earth. Scientists say the particles in the atmospheric haze are actually red and gray. But the way the particles scatter blue light is what has everyone excited.
A blue sky often results from scattering of sunlight by very small particles. … On Earth, those particles are very tiny nitrogen molecules. On Pluto, they appear to be larger — but still relatively small — soot-like particles we call tholins.
Carly Howett, NASA researcher.
During its flyby, the probe obtained a a ton of new scientific data, snapping he most detailed photographs ever taken of this mysterious object and its several moons. Instead of a cratered, barren orb — as some scientists expected — Pluto appears to be a startlingly dynamic world with soaring mountains and smooth plains of exotic water ices. Since its closest approach to the planet, the New Horizons spacecraft has traveled an additional 500 million miles and is now 3.1 billion miles from Earth.
